The Kissing Booth
by AnimeOtakuManga
Summary: A high school student finds herself face-to-face with her long-term crush when she signs up to run a kissing booth at the spring carnival.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. I didn't write this story only put Naruto characters in place of the original characters. I didn't write this story only replaced various things**.Original by Beth Reekles.

**Chapter 1**

**_Sakura POV_**

'Do you want a drink?' Naruto called from the kitchen as Sakura shut the front door.

'No, thanks,' Sakura called back. 'I'll head on up to your room.'

'Sure thing.'

Sakura never stops wondering at how big Naruto Uchiha's house was; it was practically a mansion. There was a room downstairs complete with a fifty-inch TV and surround sound, not to mention the pool table, and the heated pool outside.

Even though Sakura treated it like a second home the only place Sakura felt really, really comfortable was in Naruto's bedroom.

Sakura opened the door and saw the sunlight spilling in through the open doors leading to his small balcony. Posters of bands covered the walls, Naruto's drum kit sat in the corner next to a guitar, and his Apple Mac was proudly displayed on a smart mahogany desk that matched the rest of the furniture.

But, just like any other sixteen-year-old boy's room, the floor was littered with T-shirts and underpants and stinky socks; empty ramen cups festered next to the Apple Mac, and empty cans were strewn over almost every surface.

Sakura launched herself onto Naruto's bed, loving the way it bounced. We'd been best friends since we were born. Our moms both knew each other from college and I only lived a ten-minute walk away now. Naruto and I had grown up together. We might as well have been twins: freakishly, we were born on the same day.

Naruto was my best friend. Always had been and always will be. Even if he did annoy the hell out of me sometimes.

He turned up just at that moment, holding two opened bottles of orange soda, knowing I'd have drunk his at some point anyway.

'We need to decide what we're doing for the carnival,' I said.

'I know,' Naruto sighed, messing up his golden blonde hair and scrunching up his freckled face. 'Can't we just do a coconut thing? You know, when they throw balls and try to knock the coconuts off?'

I shook my head in wonder. 'That's what I was thinking . . .'

'Of course, it is.'

I smirked a little. 'But we can't. It's already taken.'

'Why do we have to come up with a booth anyway? Can't we just manage the whole event and make other people come up with the booths?'

'Hey, you're the one who said being on the school council would look good on our college applications.'You're the one who agreed to it.'

'Because I wanted to be on the dance committee,' I pointed out. 'I didn't realize we had to work on the carnival too.'

'This sucks.'

'I know. Oh, hey, what about if we hired one of those, um . . . you know' – I made a swinging gesture with my hands – 'those things with the hammer.'

'Where they test your strength?'

'Yeah. That thing.'

'No, they already ordered one of those.'

I sighed. 'I don't know then. There's not much left – everything's already taken.'

We looked at each other and both said, 'I told you we should've started planning this earlier.'

We laughed, and Naruto sat at his computer, spinning around on the chair slowly.

'Haunted house?'

I gave him a deadpan look – well, I tried. It wasn't easy to catch his eye when he was spinning around like that.

'It's spring, Naruto. Not Halloween.'

'Yeah, so?'

'No. No haunted house.'

'Fine,' he grumbled. 'Then what do you suggest?'

I shrugged. Truth was, I had no idea. We were pretty much screwed. If we didn't come up with a booth, then we'd end up being booted off the council, which would mean we couldn't put it on our college applications next year.

'I don't know. I can't think when it's this hot.'

'Then take off your sweater and come up with something.'

I rolled my eyes, and Naruto started surfing Google for ideas for a booth for the Spring Carnival. I tugged my sweater off over my head and felt the sun on my bare stomach. I tried to wriggle my arms back through so I could pull down the tank top I was wearing underneath . . .

' Naruto,' I said, my voice muffled. 'A little help?'

He snickered at me, and I heard him get up. At that moment the bedroom door was pushed open, and I thought for a minute he'd left me in a tangle, but the next second I heard a different voice.

'Hn, at least lock the door if you guys are going to do that.'

I froze, my cheeks going a bright pink that could put my hair to shame, as Naruto tugged down my tank top and yanked the sweater off my head, leaving my hair static.

I looked up to see his older brother leaning against the door frame, smirking at me.

'Hey, Pinky,' he greeted me. He knew I hate being called Pinky. I let Naruto get away with it, but Sasuke was another matter entirely. He did it solely to annoy me. Nobody else dared call me 'Pinky', not after I had yelled at Sai for it in the fourth grade. Now everybody called me Sakura. Just like nobody else dared call him 'Saucegay', except for Lee; everyone else called him Sasuke.

'Hi, Saucegay,' I shot back with a sweet smile.

His jaw clenched and his dark eyebrows rose a little, like he was daring me to carry on calling him that. I just smiled back and the sexy smirk returned.

Sasuke was just about the hottest guy to grace this earth; believe me, I'm not exaggerating. He had black hair that flopped into his onyx eyes, and he was tall and broad-shouldered. His nose was a little crooked from when it was broken in a fight and didn't set quite right – Sasuke wasn't a stranger to fights, but he'd never been suspended. Aside from the occasional 'scrap', as Naruto and I had taken to calling it, he was a model student: his grades never dropped below an A, and he was the star of the football team, too.

I used to have a crush on him when I was twelve or thirteen. It passed pretty quickly though when I realized he was way out of my league and always would be. And even though he was unbelievably hot, I acted my normal self around him because I knew there wasn't a chance in hell that he'd ever look at me as anything other than his brother's best friend.

'I know I seem to have this effect on ladies, but could you please try and keep your clothes on in my presence?'

I laughed sarcastically. 'Dream on.'

'What're you guys doing, anyway?'

I did wonder for a moment why he was interested, but I shrugged it off. Naruto said, 'We have to come up with a stupid booth for the carnival.'

'Sounds like crap.'

'No kidding,' I said, rolling my eyes. 'All the good booths are taken. We'll end up with something like – like – like that thing where you hook a duck.'

They both looked at me like I couldn't have come up with a worse idea, and I shrugged.

'Whatever. Anyway, Naruto – Mom and Dad are away tonight, so party at eight.'

'Cool.'

'And Pinky? Try not to strip off in front of everybody for me tonight.'

'You know I only have eyes for Naruto,' I said innocently.

Sasuke laughed a little, smirking. He was already tapping away at his phone – probably broadcasting the message about a party, just like Naruto was. He loped out of the room like a lazy cat or something. I couldn't help but let my eyes drag after his cute butt . . .

'Hey, if you could stop checking out Saucegay for two seconds,' Naruto teased.

I blushed and shoved him. 'Shut up.'

'I thought you were over your crush.'

'I am. That doesn't make him any less hot though.'

Naruto rolled his eyes at me. 'Whatever. You're gross sometimes, you know.'

I went to sit at the computer, Naruto leaning over my shoulders, his chin resting on the top of my head.

I clicked onto the next page of search results and scrolled down, feeling my eyes glaze over as they scanned the page.

I stopped, something catching my eye just as Naruto started to say, 'Hold up.'

We both stared at the screen for a few seconds; then he stood up, and I spun the chair around to face him, identical smiles stretching over our faces.

'Kissing booth,' we both said at the same time, grinning. Naruto held his hand up for a high five, and I smacked my palm against his.

This was going to be so cool.

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. I didn't write this story only put Naruto characters in place of the original characters. I didn't write this story only replaced various things

A/n: This isnt my original story, I took the original story and with the characters and other parts and replaced them with Naruto character's and other naruto stuff. Basically just changed a few things to create a Sasusaku story. I'm not taking credit for this story. I am just a bored teen creating more sasusaku content to feed my obsession with the ship. Im working on something original but it sucks right now so Im just doing these kind of stories for now. I just edited to be a sasusaku fic .


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. **I didn't write this story only replaced various things**. Original by Beth Reekles.

Chapter 2

We decided that we'd have a two-dollar fee. Two dollars for a kiss. Whatever booth we'd decided on, the basic stall was already there for us to use at the school, but we'd need a lot of pink and red. I thought we should have black, but Naruto told me patronizingly, 'It's not Halloween, Pinky.'

'Fine. We'll stick to pink and red.'

'What are we going to need then? Streamers, crepe paper, ribbon . . . That kind of thing, right?'

'Yeah, I guess. Hey, do you think we'd be able to make a big banner in woodwork?' I didn't want to take woodwork, but it was either that or home ec., and after my cupcake disaster of eighth grade, I've tried to stay away from baking. But maybe it'd come in handy.

'I don't see why not. Kakashi-sensei probably won't have a problem with it.'

I nodded. 'Cool. We could probably get some of the jocks in on it, and the cheerleaders. We need four, and they can all go in shifts of two.'

'Sounds okay. Who should we ask though?'

'Well . . . Ino and Tenten will definitely do it,' I said thoughtfully. 'And they can rope in some other girls.'

'Sounds good. I'll call some of the guys.'

I pulled out my cell phone, scrolling through for their numbers. Naruto and I didn't belong to any particular clique; we just hung out with whoever we wanted, which meant we had pretty much everybody's numbers. Naruto was one of those charismatic and likeable people, and we came as a package. We did have a few really close friends, of course – all of them guys.

I got hold of Tenten, who chirpily told me that, sure, she was totally up for it! Ino agreed as well, saying she could, like, just not wait for it and would call every girl she knew.

'Done,' I sighed, flopping back on the bed. I felt it bounce as Naruto followed suit, and we grinned at each other.

'Our booth is going to kill.'

'I know. We are scary good sometimes.'

'I know.'

My phone beeped, and I saw a text from Ino telling me that Temari and Konan would do the kissing booth too, so I replied a brief thank you.

'The girls are all sorted,' I said.

'Great. Kiba texted to say that he'll fix up the guys for us, so it's all done.'

'Which means . . . we have nothing to do now,' I said brightly. 'So you can come shopping with me.'

Naruto groaned. 'Why do you need to go shopping? Don't you have enough clothes?'

'Yes, I do . . . But you're having a party tonight and I'm in a good mood since we've sorted out this booth at last. So we're going shopping to buy me something to wear later.'

Naruto groaned again. 'You just want a hot dress so you can impress Sasuke, don't you?'

'No. I just want to go get something to wear. But if I do end up impressing Sasuke . . . that's just a bonus. Not to mention a freaking miracle. We both know he doesn't even think about me in that way . . .'

Naruto sighed. 'Fine, fine, we're going shopping. Stop your whineing.'

I grinned triumphantly; I knew I could convince him. Naruto realized I was faking my moaning, but he didn't want to hear it either way.

I picked up my sweater and waited for Naruto to grab his wallet and sneakers. I bounced downstairs while he trailed behind me. We got into his car – a 65 Mustang he'd got for a steal at a scrap yard – and Naruto turned on the engine.

'Thanks, Naruto.'

'The things I do for you,' he sighed, but he was smiling.

We were at the mall in twenty minutes. Naruto turned off the engine, leaving my ears ringing slightly from the hip-hop that had been blasting out.

'You know you owe me for dragging me here.'

'I'll buy you Ramen.'

Naruto wavered. 'And a drink.'

'Done.'

He slung his arm around my shoulders and I quickly realized why – when he guided me straight to the food court before I could conveniently forget about his bribe. Once Naruto was pacified with snacks, he was quite happy to trail around after me to the shops.

After browsing a few stores, I found the perfect outfit.

It was a coral-colored dress, the skirt not too tight or short, and the neck low enough to be flattering without revealing everything. The soft, sheer material was bunched up down the left-hand side, concealing the long zip.

'Do we have to go shoe shopping now too?' Naruto moaned as I announced I was trying it on.

'No, I have shoes, Naruto,' I said, rolling my eyes.

'Yeah, well, you have clothes too, but that didn't stop you,' he muttered, following me to the changing rooms. He didn't think twice about wandering into the cubicle with me and lying across the stool. But then again, I didn't give a second thought to changing in front of him.

'Zip me up?'

He sighed wearily, and got to his feet to oblige. I looked in the mirror, smoothing the dress. It looked better on the hanger, I thought doubtfully. It showed an awful lot of leg . . .

Naruto let out a low wolf-whistle. 'Nice.'

'Shut up. Do you think it's too short?'

He shrugged and smacked my ass. 'Who cares?'

Playfully, I smacked him across the head in reply. 'I'm serious, Naruto. Is it too short?'

'Well. Maybe a little. But it looks good.'

'Are you sure?'

'You think I'd lie to you, Pinky?' he asked sadly, putting on a pained expression and staggering back, hands clutched over his heart.

I gave him a look in the mirror. 'Do you need me to answer that, Naruto?'

'No, I guess not,' he laughed. 'So you gonna get it?'

I nodded. 'Yeah, I guess. It's fifty percent off.'

'Cool.' Then he groaned. 'You're not spending that other fifty percent on shoes, are you? Please tell me you're not. If you are, then you owe me a 2 bowls of ramen.'

'I promise I'm not buying shoes, or anything else, okay? We can go home after I buy the dress.' I stepped out of it and put on my jeans and top and sweater: the air-con in the mall made it freezing.

'Aw,' he sighed. 'I wanted ramen.'

I laughed, walking out of the cubicle with him in tow. I walked straight into something – no, someone.

'Sorry,' I apologized reflexively. Then I realized who it was. 'Oh, hi, Akari.'

She looked suspiciously from me to Naruto, and a sly smile slipped onto her face. Akari was the biggest gossip in the school, and while she was really nice, she is one of those people who can annoy you very easily for no reason.

'What're you two doing in here? This is the girls' changing rooms, Naruto, you know.'

He shrugged. 'Sakura needed a second opinion.'

'Okay,' she said; she actually sounded kind of disappointed, like she'd hoped there was a more gossip-worthy reason. 'Sure thing. Hey, I heard you're having a party tonight. Sasuke's going to be there, right?'

Naruto rolled his eyes. 'Yeah.'

Akari smiled brightly. 'Great!'

'Are you dress shopping too?' I asked her, just making small talk.

'No, I need a new pair of jeans. My dog decided that my jeans made a better toy than his squeaky ball.'

I laughed. 'What a nice dog.'

'Tell me about it. Are you wearing that tonight?' She nodded at the dress in my hands.

'Yeah.'

'I'm not sure it's really your color . . .' she said, but I caught the muscle twitch in her cheek, and the expression was one I'd learned to read over the years. Jealousy. I took that as a good sign.

'Hmm, maybe . . . But it's on sale. I can't resist a good bargain.'

She laughed politely. 'Yeah, I guess. Well, see you guys later!'

'Bye, Akari,' we chorused, and I heard Naruto sigh and mumble something about how much she annoyed him.

I paid for the dress and we made another stop by the food court so he could get a bowl of ramen before we left. I just had anmitsu 'Don't spill that in my baby,' he warned when I was eating it as I got into his car.

'Of course I won't!' I nearly did, though, and, seeing his threatening look, I didn't dare take another sip till we hit a red light.

As Naruto pulled up in his driveway, I checked the time. 'Almost six . . . I'd better head home and get ready,' I said.

'You can be such a girl sometimes, Pinky.'

I laughed. 'Are you only just noticing?'

Naruto laughed and headed inside. 'See you later,' he called over his shoulder.

'Bye!'

Nobody was home when I got in, but I wasn't that surprised. My younger brother, Sasori, had a soccer tournament today and Dad had probably taken him out for burgers or something after.

I put my iPod into my speakers and let Ke$ha blast out loudly, so that I'd hear it from the shower with the water roaring in my ears.

When I stood in my towel, scrutinizing the dress, doubts about it started creeping into my mind. I'd grown up with Naruto, and without a mom, so I wasn't the biggest girly-girl; but that didn't stop me from dressing up for things like this. I shook my head and berated myself. The dress was way longer than some of the girls' school skirts, for Pete's sake. It was fine.

So I sat at my dresser, make-up in front of me, my curling iron heating up. I carefully blended foundation over my skin, and perfected my eyeliner to make my emerald eyes pop. I took my time to make sure my hair, shiny and vanilla-scented after my shower, was cascading down my back in perfect coal-black ringlets.

I felt more than a little self-conscious when I looked at myself in the dress – along with a pair of black wedges with two-inch heels. I knew there would be girls who had their make-up way over the top, dresses way shorter than mine, and heels much higher than mine. But I wavered, wondering if I really did look okay.

But by then it was suddenly thirteen minutes past eight. Where had my two hours gone?

I tore my phone out of its charger, seeing a text from Naruto asking where I was.

I walked cautiously around to his house. My heels weren't high, but I always felt more comfortable in flats.

There were people milling around the yard, and the front door was open, letting the bass spill out; it made the grass tremble. I smiled and greeted people on my way through to the kitchen to get myself a drink.

I was looking through the refrigerator, unsurprised that they'd moved all the food out to make space for the drinks people had brought. Naruto and Sasuke tended to do that, after some kids thought it'd be funny to stick slices of ham and turkey to the walls with condiments a few months back.

I grabbed a bottle of orange soda and cracked it open on the kitchen worktop, a trick Naruto's dad had shown me.

'Hey, Sakura!'

I turned and saw a group of girls waving me over. I smiled to them.

'Hi, guys.'

'Ino said you and Naruto are doing a kissing booth for the carnival,' said Temari. 'That's so cool!'

'Thanks.' I grinned.

'Nobody's done one of those for years,' said Konan. 'It's such an awesome idea!'

'Well, we are pretty awesome people.'

They laughed. 'I will most definitely be stopping by that booth,' Tenten said with a sly smile. 'I heard Neji Hyuga's doing it.'

'And Shikamaru,' Ino added.

'Neji's doing it?' I asked.

'That's what Shikamaru said.' Tenten shrugged.

Konan laughed. 'It's your booth, Sakura – you should know.'

I smiled sheepishly. 'Yeah, well . . .'

'Hey, you know who you should've got to do it?' Temari told me. 'Uchiha.'

For a brief moment I wondered who the hell she was talking about. Then I realized she meant Sasuke, of course.

'I don't think he'd do it.'

'Well, did you ask?'

'Not exactly . . .'

'Couldn't he do it as a favor to his brother, at least?' Temari said. 'Pull the guilt card – that'd work.'

'But I think we've got our four guys . . .'

'But if you had Uchiha, every girl in the state would turn up at our carnival,' Ino said. She, like every other girl, thought she had a chance with Sasuke. Well, she kind of did, being head cheerleader, and Sasuke being on the football team, but Sasuke never gave her a second glance.

Yet somehow he had a reputation as a player, even though you never saw him pay girls much attention. The weirdest thing was, he almost seemed proud of that status.

'You know, if you got Sasuke to do the kissing booth, you'd be a legend,' Konan told me.

'You've got a boyfriend, Konan,' Temari reminded her with a laugh. 'You can't go to the kissing booth.'

'Why not? It's all for a good cause. What is it this time – saving the dolphins?'

'I think that was last year,' I laughed. 'No, it's for cancer research charities this year.'

'Even better!' Konan exclaimed, making us all laugh. 'Ask him.'

'Yeah, go on,' Ino urged me.

'Just ask,' Tenten pleaded. 'Please, Sakura?'

'Well . . . I don't know . . .'

'Look, here he comes,' Temai said suddenly, interrupting me. She gave me a gentle shove. 'Just ask him, at least. If he says no . . . at least you tried.'

'Fine,' I sighed, giving in. I wandered over to intercept Sasuke on his way to get another beer.

He nodded at me.

'Will you do the kissing booth for us, for the Spring Carnival? Please? We can't find a fourth guy. It's for charity. Naruto and I really need a favor.'

Sasuke straightened up, cracking open his can. 'Kissing booth, huh?'

'Yeah.'

'That's cool.'

'I know. I'm a cool person.'

'Better than your duck idea.'

'Ha-ha.'

He gave a breath of laugher and a half-smirk that made my heart skitter wildly. 'And you want me to be a kisser? At your kissing booth?'

'It's for a good cause?' I tried.

Don't think so, Pinky.'

'Please, Sasuke?' I begged, using the puppy-dog eyes and putting a heavy emphasis on his name.

'Will you go on your knees and beg?'

'No,' I said slowly, 'but every other girl will. Would that do it?'

He laughed a little. 'That's why I'm going to say no, sorry.'

I sighed. 'Well, they can't say I didn't try.'

'Hold on,' he said. 'Did you actually need me to do it, or do they just want me to do it?' he asked, jerking his head past me at the girls.

'The latter.'

He nodded. 'Well, sorry. I don't think I can risk my dignity. Plus, imagine how much all the other guys would hate me for stealing all the kisses,' he said with a smirk.

'I was thinking something more along the lines of how much the charity would hate you for putting people off coming to the kissing booth.'

He smirked. 'Touché.'

'Whatever . . .' I shook my head. 'Forget it.'

I wandered back to the cheerleaders, shrugging with an apologetic smile. 'Sorry, guys. He won't do it.'

'You should've tried harder,' Ino said. 'Watch and learn.' She thrust her drink at Tenten, and sauntered over to Sasuke, who was talking to a couple of boys. Ino, in her extremely little black dress, was leaning on Sasuke's arm, all but throwing herself at him, and it looked like she had something in her eye, the way she was batting her eyelashes.

Then again, maybe I was just being a little too critical. I mean, her technique seemed to turn a few other guys' heads, at least.

Needless to say, he obviously told her no too: she pouted and stalked back to us. 'That guy is so obnoxious.'

'And so hot,' Temari muttered, sipping her drink.

'Hell yeah,' Ino agreed with a laugh. The girls all giggled and looked around to check him out.

'Don't you think Sasuke's hot, Sakura?'

I looked at Tenten, blinking. 'Well, yeah. Of course he is.'

'Then why aren't you talking about his fine ass?'

I smiled wryly. 'Because he's so far out of my league there's no point in even trying.'

She gave me a sympathetic look. 'What are you on about? You're really pretty! I mean, I'd kill for hair like yours.'

I shrugged, and blushed a little. 'Thanks, I guess. But whatever, he's just Naruto's brother to me now.'

'Maybe there's something there. You never know.'

I laughed. 'Yeah, right. In my dreams.'

Temari shrugged and Tenten started talking to her, so I excused myself and slipped into the lounge, where everybody was dancing. I finished off my soda in a few gulps and set the bottle down before joining in. The atmosphere was contagious; not everybody was drinking alcohol, but that didn't stop them from letting their hair down and going a little crazy.

I hadn't intended to get drunk. I knew I could have a good time without any of that stuff. But I was a complete lightweight, so by the time I'd had two cans of apple cider, I was pretty out of it. Time flew past, and I was dancing around, laughing and chatting to people.

It seemed like everybody had heard about the kissing booth.

And when they asked me if Sasuke would be doing it, I told them I'd ask, because that seemed like the easiest option.

It was about eleven o'clock. I'd just joined some boys, mostly seniors, and Naruto, Kiba and Shino in the game room. They were doing shots, all lined up on the pool table.

'Can I join in?' I asked, bouncing into the room with a grin.

'Sure,'Kiba said, and poured another shot for me.

'Uh, haven't you had enough to drink, Sakura?' Naruto asked me warily.

'Who cares?' I chirped. 'Three, two . . .'

Everyone took their shot and slammed the glasses down again. Kiba poured the vodka out again and again. After the second, I lost track of which round we were on. I didn't even like vodka – it was gross. It burned my throat the whole way down. But I didn't notice.

Everything was bright and out of focus and loud. I giggled helplessly, doubling over in hysterics.

'Sakura, you are so wasted,' laughed Garaa, walking over and straightening me up.

I giggled again. 'Let's dance. I want to dance. Somebody dance with me. Chris, dance with me?'

'There's no music in here.'

'Oh well. Let's do it anyway.' But then I decided to climb onto the pool table to dance. I giggled a little when I felt the pounding bass from the lounge through the pool table.

I started swishing my hips from side to side in time with the music, my hands in the air, my hair swinging with me. I tried to drag Naruto up to dance too, but he wouldn't.

'Why not?' I whined at him.

'I'm not dancing,' he said. 'C'mon, Sakura, just get down.'

I stuck my tongue out at him. He tried to grab hold of me and pull me down, but I wriggled away and carried on dancing. He was such a party pooper!

'I'll be right back.'

'Where are you going?' I asked him. He couldn't leave – the party wasn't over yet!

'I'm going to get a drink. Kiba, you want anything?'

'Got all I need right here man,' he replied, and winked at me with a laugh. I blew him a kiss.

It was so hot in the game room, I thought. Had somebody turned up the heating? I was really starting to sweat. Maybe a dip in the pool would cool me down . . .

And suddenly I had the perfect solution. 'Lets go skinny dipping!' I cried enthusiastically, and reached for my zip as I stumbled to the edge of the table, teetering in my wedges.

Suddenly, my feet left the ground and the whole world turned upside down. My legs were in the air and my head was hanging down looking at someone's back.

'Hey!' I cried. 'Put me down! Put me down!'

They didn't put me down though. I watched the stairs stretch out below me as they carried me upstairs. My palm turned clammy. This couldn't be Naruto. He hadn't been wearing black – had he? Maybe he had?

No, I was sure he hadn't. Naruto was wearing orange. I didn't know who was in a black shirt.

But whoever it was was pretty damn strong, given that I was wriggling around like a wild thing.

Eventually I was dropped onto something soft. A mattress! That's what it was.

I sat up straight, folding my legs underneath me as best I could. 'Sasuke Uchihas,' I complained when I saw him giving me a reprimanding look. 'You're such a party pooper! I was having fun!'

'You were about to strip off,' he argued. 'Just take a break for twenty minutes.'

'No!' I cried, pouting. 'Don't be such a downer. I wanted to go skinny dipping!'

He shook his head at me, smirking. 'Tempting as that is, I think you're better off staying here for a little bit – at least till you're more sober.'

sighed, sinking back down on the pillows. Then I sat up again. 'Are you going to leave me all on my own?'

'No. I don't trust you to stay in the room.'

'You don't trust me? Why not? I'm Naruto's best friend. You've known me since forever! You should trust me more.'

Sasuke was shaking his head at me while he went over to push the door shut and turn the key in the lock.

I raised an eyebrow as he wandered back over and straddled a chair facing me.

But, even in my state of mind, I knew the thought was ridiculous.

'Aren't you drunk?' I asked him.

'Not really.'

'Aw, why? It's your party. Go crazy!'

'I think you were being crazy enough for the both of us.'

'I'm sorry,' I said, pouting a little. 'I didn't mean to spoil your fun.'

Sasuke laughed at me.

I clambered to the edge of the bed and swung my legs back and forth, sitting on my hands. 'Sasuke . . .'

'Yes.'

'Will you please do the kissing booth for us?'

'No.'

'Please?' I begged, bouncing up and down on the springy mattress. Wow. It was like a trampoline or something! Like Naruto's bed. 'Please, please, pretty please with a cherry on top?'

'No.'

'Why not?' I whined. 'You're so mean!'

'I don't want to do a kissing booth, simple as.'

'But why?'

'I don't want to.'

'Please? It's – I think it's for cancer. Or maybe it's for the dolphins. That's a funny word isn't it, dolphins? Dolphins . . . Dol . . . phins . . . Like dolly-fins.'

'I'm not going to do the kissing booth, no matter who or what it's for.'

I got up and moved over to crouch right in front of him, so close that our noses were almost touching. 'Not even for me?'

He shook his head. Then – 'Man, your breath stinks. How much vodka did you have, Sakura?'

'I don't know. Kiba poured it.'

He sighed. 'Those guys . . . I swear . . .'

'What?'

'Nothing.'

'Fine, don't tell me then.' I shot back up straight and staggered back, the whole room pitching around me and turning gray and fuzzy around the edges.

'I think I'm gonna be sick.'

Sasuke was already shoving me into the bathroom, and pushed me over the toilet bowl in time for me to puke my guts up.

Once that was over and I was done dry-heaving, I flopped down on the cold tile floor, my head lolling against the edge of the bathtub. A glass of cold water was pushed against my lips, and he made me drink it up.

'I'm really, really sorry, Sasuke,' I whimpered. I felt all gross now after throwing up. 'I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your party.'

'You didn't ruin my party, Sakura,' he told me.

I nodded fiercely, but stopped when it made me feel sick again. 'Yes I did. I'm really sorry!'

'It's okay,' he laughed. 'Calm down.'

I scowled, and punched him on the chest. Wow. That is one solid chest. I bet he has a six-pack too. Maybe even an eight-pack, knowing Sasuke. Or a ten-pack! Is there even such a thing? Possibly . . . If there was, Sasuke would have one.

Halting my internal babble, I said, 'Don't laugh at me.'

He chucked harder, and pulled me to my feet. I half fell, so he wrapped an arm around my waist to support me. After helping me stagger back over to the bed, he let me drop on top of the covers.

'I'll be back in ten minutes to ch—'

I was already asleep.

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. **I didn't write this story or anything i only replaced various things**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. **I didn't write this story only replaced various things**. Original by Beth Reekles.

Chapter 3

Sunlight was trying to filter through the drapes, but it was weak early morning sunshine, and the glow turned the room a dark blue. I closed my eyes again, trying to snuggle my head down into the soft squishy pillow under my head. I curled into a tighter ball under a thick comforter.

I was so cozy and warm. And everything smelled . . . it was something between citrus and woodsy. Whatever it was, it was a really great smell. And I was sure I'd smelled it somewhere before on someone . . .

I gasped suddenly, sitting bolt upright.

My bedroom didn't smell like that. And my bed was not this comfortable. Neither did my room have blue drapes.

So . . . where the hell was I?

I looked around. Everything was sort of familiar . . . But I definitely hadn't been here before. I threw the covers off and saw I was wearing a boy's shirt that was too big on me, just a plain gray shirt. It smelled just like the pillows.

I still had all my underwear on though – that was a good sign.

I climbed out of the bed carefully. What the hell had happened last night? I strained my memory but came up short. I vaguely recalled dancing on the pool table. Had I really had that much to drink?

There was a disgusting taste in my mouth to match my pounding headache.

I must have thrown up. I remembered someone holding my hair back for me. It must've been Naruto; he would've taken care of me.

But where was I?

I tiptoed over to the door of the bedroom and poked my head out. I practically cried in relief to see I was in Naruto and Sasuke's house. It must be Sasuke's room I crashed in – in all these years I'd never been in his room.

So . . . why was I in Sasuke's room? Why not one of the guest rooms? Or Naruto's?

I went back to the bed, my head pounding so hard I didn't think I could stay on my feet much longer and looked at the alarm clock. It was only half eight in the morning. In the hopes of sleeping off my hangover, I snuggled back under the covers, breathing in Sasuke's smell.

Just as I was about to drift into unconsciousness again, the door opened slowly, making the hinges creak.

My eyes flashed back open immediately, and my eyes met Sasuke's. He was standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a towel around his hips, hung right down low, and his chest and abs were still streaked with droplets of water, his black hair dripping.

My eyebrows shot up. Six-pack. Who'd have thought it?

I couldn't help but blush at how he made my heart race just by looking at me.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay," I said, my voice a little croaky. I cleared my throat, but even that noise hurt my head. "I just woke up anyway."

"Right. Hungover, much?"

I grimaced in response, making Sasuke chuckle. "You have no idea. I didn't know I'd drunk so much."

"You had a load of vodka, I know that," he said, sitting on the end of the bed. My heart went wild. Couldn't he have grabbed a shirt or some jeans before stopping to talk to me?

"What do you mean? You know that? When did you see me?"

"When you were about to strip off on the pool table in front of a bunch of the guys and then go skinny dipping," he said casually, looking sideways at me with those deep onyx eyes.

I wondered if he could hear my heart racing. Probably. I hoped I wasn't blushing anymore, at least. That would just be peachy.

My jaw dropped when his words sank in. "Oh, God. Tell me I didn't."

"No, you didn't. I had to carry you out."

I gaped, my cheeks flaming, and covered my face with my hands, looking through my fingers at him. "I can't believe I did that."

"Yeah, well . . ."

"Thanks though. For stopping me. That would've been embarrassing this morning."

"You don't say," he said sarcastically, but he smiled. "You threw up, too." "What, in front of people?"

Oh, God, this just gets worse!I thought, mortified.

"No," he said, shaking his head and flicking water over me. "In my bathroom. I was trying to make sure you didn't make an idiot of yourself or get hurt."

I groaned, humiliated. "Sorry about that. I'm really sorry, Sasuke, I didn't mean for you to miss the party or anything . . ."

He shrugged. "It's okay. I didn't mind."

I scoffed. "Sure. Whatever. I think we both know it wasn't exactly the highlight of your night having to take care of me."

"It wasn't all that bad," he said after a moment and smiled again. It wasn't a smirk. It was a real, genuine smile that showed the dimple in his left cheek and made his eyes crease a little at the corners. It was infectious; I had to smile back at him.

"Well, thanks, Sasuke." I couldn't help but put a taunting emphasis on his name.

"Anytime, Pinky."

He reached over to ruffle my hair, and when I went to push him away I somehow ended up tumbling off the bed and pulling him down with me.

Sasuke was really heavy. He didn't have a spare half-pound of fat on him, but he was a hell of a lot of muscle. And he was crushing me.

But I was caught by his dark eyes. He didn't budge, either – just looked back at me.

Before it turned into too much of a staring match, I found my voice again. "Sasuke . . ." I breathed.

"Yeah?" he said in just as hushed a voice.

"You're crushing me."

He blinked a couple of times like he was jerking himself back to reality. Then he said, "Oh, right. Shit. Sorry."

He got to his feet, holding the towel around him – I don't know what I would've done if he'd dropped the towel.

No, Sakura! Don't even go down that road! Shut up! Stop thinking!

He offered me a hand and I got to my feet too. The shirt I was wearing reached barely past my butt, so I felt extremely self-conscious.

"Um, when did I change?" I asked, plucking at the shirt and looking around. I saw my dress draped over a chair.

"Oh, I came back up to check on you and you woke up, and then you started to take off your dress because you didn't want to crease it, you said, so I found you a shirt to wear." He shrugged and scratched the back of his neck briefly.

I blinked, my brain trying sluggishly to catch up. "So . . . you saw me . . . in my underwear . . ." Please say no, please say no, please—

His mouth twitched; he was trying so hard not to smirk. "Uh . . .'

"Oh my God." I buried my face in my hands.

"I averted my eyes, I swear."

I laughed it off, saying, "Don't worry about it," when truthfully, my pulse was roaring in my ears. Mr. Player averting his eyes? Likely story.

"Naruto's downstairs cooking breakfast if you want any," he told me. His words tumbled out, as though he were trying to change the topic.

My stomach decided to growl in answer to him, making us both laugh. "Awesome."

I headed downstairs, closing his bedroom door behind me. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding and sagged against the door.

"Oh my God," I breathed, talking to myself. I thought I was totally over Sasuke. But after those five minutes – with him in a towel and me in his shirt, and him falling on top of me . . . My heart just wouldn't calm down!

It was ridiculous. I knew Sasuke never saw me as anything other than the annoying girl who was his brother's best friend. To him, I was nothing more than that, I was certain.

But still . . .

I fell backward suddenly, the door behind me disappearing.

Flat on my back, I blinked up at Sasuke, now wearing a pair of boxer shorts.

I cracked up laughing. "You wear cute little kitty cat boxers!"

He looked down at himself, as though he needed visual confirmation of this. I watched pink blossom over his cheeks, and all I could think was, I made Sasuke Uchiha blush!

He was smirking like he didn't care, then winked and said, "You know you find them irresistible, Pinky."

Is it that obvious?

"Oh yeah, right," I scoffed. "Sure I do."

I pushed myself to my feet again and pulled the shirt down as far as it would go. Still grinning foolishly at the knowledge I'd made him blush, I headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura," Naruto sighed when I collapsed onto a seat at the bar table. "What am I going to do with you, my stripping, skinny-dipping little friend?"

"Make me some breakfast?" I replied hopefully.

He laughed, and turned back to the stove, throwing some more bacon into the pan. "The things I do for you."

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. **I didn't write this story only replaced various things**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. I didn't write this story or anything.Original by Beth Reekles.

Chapter 4

I spent most of the day playing Mario Kart with Naruto.

"I'm actually pretty surprised Sasuke took care of me," I admitted to Naruto.

He laughed. "You're not the only one. I would've if I'd been there. But I got kind of waylaid ..."

"Yeah, you told me about Akeno. Was there another girl you kissed, or just the one? You want to watch it – you'll be turning out like Sasuke."

Naruto rolled his eyes at me. "Says the stripper. We make a fine pair."

"I was intoxicated."

"So was I, a little."

"Not Sasuke, apparently."

"I think he must have been if he was looking after you like that. He's not usually so . . . so nice."

I laughed. "To put it nicely."

"Indeed. Hey, maybe he's crushing back at you."

I gave Naruto a look. "Don't be so ridiculous. And I got over that crush years ago, as you well know."

Naruto wrinkled his nose. "That'd be weird anyway."

"Whatever." I shoved him, making his kart veer off course, and sending Yoshi plummeting over the waterfall while I went into the lead with Luigi.

I got home around five: I had some homework to finish off. I'd made Naruto drive me home since I'd borrowed a pair of his jeans and didn't want to be seen in public. I made a dash for the door, my best friend laughing at me.

"Hey!"

"What?" I yelled, turning back to him.

He threw my dress over to me, and I caught it just before it fell on the ground. "See you in the morning!"

"Bye, Naruto!"

I shut the front door and heard, "Sakura, is that you?"

"Yeah! Hi, Dad!"

"Come in the kitchen a sec."

I sighed, wondering if I was in for a lecture now or not. I dreaded my dad getting angry with me.

He was working on his laptop at the kitchen table, and I heard Sasori on the Wii in the lounge.

"Hey," I said, putting on the coffee maker.

"You can make me a cup too while you're there," he said.

"Okay."

"Good party?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it was great."

"You didn't get too drunk? Or do anything too stupid?" He shot me a stern look over the rim of his glasses: he was talking about boys.

I'm not sure why he bothered. It was hardly confidential that I'd never had a boyfriend or kissed a guy.

"I, um . . . I wasn't too bad . . . only a bit drunk."

Dad sighed and took off his glasses and rubbed his cheek. "Sakura . . . you know what I've said about your drinking."

"I was fine, honestly. Naruto and Sasuke took care of me anyway."

"Sasuke did?"

Even my dad was surprised enough to forget about drinking for a moment.

"Yeah. I thought it was weird too."

"Mm . . . Anyway, don't change the subject, young lady. You know what I've said about your drinking."

"I know. I'm sorry."

'Mm. Next time that happens, you'll be grounded for a month, you hear? And don't think I won't find out.'

"Message received, loud and clear."

He didn't look entirely convinced, but let it slide. It wasn't like I went out drinking every other night; it was a once-in-a-while thing.

"So have you and Naruto come up with an idea for your booth yet? The carnival's only two weeks away."

"Yeah. We're doing a kissing booth."

'That's . . . unusual,' Dad laughed. "Are you sure you'll be allowed?"

I shrugged, pouring out two mugs of coffee. "I don't see why not."

"Well, it's better than throwing balls at coconuts,' he said. 'Anyway, listen, I'm going to need you to watch Sasori tomorrow, okay? I'm working late."

"Yeah, sure." After adding a ton of milk to my coffee, I gulped it down. "I'm going to take a shower and do my homework."

"Okay. Dinner at seven. We've got meatloaf."

"Cool."

I hated Mondays. They sucked. There was not one redeeming feature about Monday mornings. I always set my alarm twenty minutes earlier than I needed to since I hated getting out of bed.

I finally dragged myself up and grabbed my black pants out of the closet. Our school was built in, like, the early 1900s or something like that, and for some stupid reason, they kept the tradition of uniform. It wasn't the worst uniform in the world, but I wished we didn't have any.

As if Monday mornings weren't already bad enough, mine was about to get a hell of a lot worse.

Riiiiiiiip!

I froze one leg half in the leg of my pants. Hurriedly, I wriggled out of them and inspected the damage. Last week, it had been a teeny tiny hole in the seam on the inside of the right leg. Now, there was a giant tear down the leg.

"Oh, crap," I muttered, throwing them down. I wasn't much of a seamstress at the best of times, and there was no way Dad would be able to fix them. I'd have to order some new ones online – they should get here by Thursday, I calculated. But until then, it'd have to be my old skirt.

I hated the regulation school skirt. It was pleated, for one thing, and made of this blue and black striped tartan. You had to wear stockings with it. Not tights. Not bare legs. Knee-high stockings. It looked good on some people, and I'd given in and worn it for a while last year before deciding to never touch the thing again.

But I had no choice.

And, worse, it was now a little too short for me.

I sighed again. It'd have to do for now. It's not like I had any other option. I rummaged through a drawer until I found some of the stockings I'd bought to go with it last year. I grimaced at myself in the mirror before heading down to breakfast.

Sasori choked on his cereal when I walked into the kitchen. He laughed so hard he sprayed Cheerios everywhere. "What the hell is that supposed to be?"

"Sasori, language," Dad scolded him. Then he turned to look at me and raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that a bit . . . inappropriate for school, Sakura?"

I huffed, scowling. 'My trousers ripped.'

"How did you manage that?"

"I forgot to fix the hole in them and . . . I don't know, they just tore."

Dad sighed. "You'll have to order some more. I haven't got time to run you to the mall to get any."

"Yeah, I know."

I'd barely finished my cereal when I heard Naruto beeping the horn impatiently outside. I put my bowl in the sink and said goodbye. I bolted to the car, jumping in before anybody could see me in my skirt.

"You're in a skirt," Naruto commented.

"No shit, Sherlock," I muttered. "Let's just go."

"What's got your panties in a twist?" he teased.

"My trousers ripped."

"I thought you were fixing them?"

"I forgot."

"It looks fine, Sakura, don't worry. You really should wear skirts more often."

I swatted at him, and he grinned and turned up the radio. It wasn't long before we were at school and I told myself to suck it up and, after taking a deep breath, climbed out of the car. We were a little later than usual, and most people had already arrived.

I slammed the car door shut and walked around to sit on the hood with Naruto as a bunch of guys wandered over to greet us.

"Hey, looking good," Kiba said, nodding at me with a wink.

I scowled, folding my arms. "Shut up."

'What?' he protested innocently. I knew he was only teasing, but I was in no mood for it.

I decided to go talk to some girls instead, spotting Tenten and Ino from my chemistry class a few cars down. Someone smacked my butt as I walked past, and I whipped around angrily.

It was one of the soccer players, Kisame, smirking at me.

"Did you just smack my butt?" I asked, clenching my jaw.

"Maybe."

"Hey, I missed the party on Saturday," said his friend Deidara. I didn't know him too well, but from what I'd seen, he was an arrogant jerk. As if to prove it, he added, "Do I get a repeat performance?"

A few of the boys laughed and cheered, and Deidara started swinging his hips like a girl and pulling his shirt out of his pants like he was going to strip. It would've been funny, but I was so angry at him and his smug little face.

I ground my teeth. "Oh, grow up already."

Deidara grabbed my wrist and pulled me back over. He probably thought it was all a joke, but I didn't. I tore my arm away and glared at him.

"Hey, back off," Naruto snapped, stepping closer.

"Make me," Deidara shot back, throwing his arms out and daring him.

So I punched him.

Well, I tried to – someone caught my fist before it collided with his jaw.

I wrestled my hand away, but not before a different fist went into Deidara's face. Then they slammed him into the old four-by-four next to us, letting go of me.

I looked around. Of course. It had to be Sasuke who'd interfered.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Suddenly there was a huge swarm in the middle of the parking lot, everyone either shouting, "Fight! Fight!" or giving the appropriate "Ooh," or "Ouch, that's gotta hurt!" when required. And I was stuck in the eye of the storm, frozen in place, unable to move.

It took a couple of seconds for reality to bring me back to my senses. I ran forward, trying to drag Sasuke away from Deidara, whose lip was split and bleeding. He couldn't have looked more livid if he'd tried.

"Sasuke!" I yelled repeatedly, but he wasn't listening. The boys were all yelling and arguing – and now there was a teacher trying to control and assess the situation – but my brain didn't register any of that.

"Naruto!" I tried helplessly, tugging on his arm instead. "Do something!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" he replied sharply. "Nobody treats my best friend like that and gets away with it."

"Naruto..." I sighed, defeated when he went back to yelling and shoving the mass of guys.

"Dude, if you like her, that's fine," Kisame scoffed to Sasuke. "But I'm sure there's plenty to go around."

He neatly dodged another punch and looked at Sasuke, daring him to carry on.

But I stood there glaring. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," he said with a wink.

I grimaced.

"That's it," Sasuke growled.

"Uchiha!" yelled the teacher, barging through the quickly dispersing crowd.

The other fights all faltered to a stop, and Sasuke only paused because I stood right in front of him, pushing his chest.

"What is all this about?" demanded the teacher – I recognized Principal Tsunade's voice.

"It's just a big misunderstanding," I told her. "Really."

"All of you," she said, "one week's detention. Sasuke Uchiha, Deidara, my office now. You too Sakura."

I gaped. "What did I do?" I exclaimed.

"Nothing, but I'd like a word with you."

I sighed dejectedly, and suddenly there was an arm around me. Naruto.

'Thanks,' I mumbled. "But you shouldn't have got involved."

"Hell yes, I should have. Nobody treats you like that, Sakura."

"You do it twenty-four/seven."

"But I'm allowed. We're best friends. Those jerks . . . no way can they talk to you like that and get away with it."

"Well, thanks," I said, giving him an awkward side-hug.

He squeezed me back. "You know,' he murmured in my ear, 'I'm starting to think my bro has a crush on you, Sakura."

I scoffed. "That, or he wanted a fight."

"Oh, probably the latter then."

"Definitely," I corrected, making him laugh. The bell rang as we reached the vice principal's office, and Naruto sighed.

"I have to get to homeroom."

"Yeah. Well, I'll just see you later, I guess."

"Yeah. Good luck," he added with a grave expression. I laughed, waving as he wandered off, and threw myself down on a chair. Someone took the one next to me – Sasuke. The principal and Deidara went straight into the office. The door shut behind them with an ominous click.

After a few seconds of silence, I said a quiet "Thanks."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke sit up. "Nobody can treat a girl like that and get away with it. Especially if that girl is you."

I peeked at him sideways, not turning my head. "Well, thank you. You didn't have to interfere, though. I mean, you could've let me land one punch."

"It would've been a good punch, I'll give you that."

"Why did you stop me?" I couldn't help but ask.

He shrugged. "To be honest . . . I'm not sure."

"In fact, while I'm at it, why did you need to get involved? Naruto and Kiba and Shikamaru would've been fine."

"Maybe," he said.

"You're avoiding my question."

Sasuke smirked. "Yeah, I am. I guess . . . I didn't want to see you get in a fight, and I didn't like hearing them talk to you like that . . ." He trailed off and ran a hand through his hair while my heart raced faster and faster.

Then he said the words that dashed the last tiny shred of hope that had been growing inside me; they spilled out in a tumble: "I guess you're just like my sister or something."

'Oh, yeah,' I said, nodding. "Of course."

He nodded too and then shook his head like he was trying to clear his mind or something. I was trying to keep my expression neutral. "Do you reckon you'll be in much trouble?" I asked casually, pretending to inspect my nails.

"Nah. I never am. Especially not when they find out I was defending your honour," he added with a smirk.

"Ha-ha," I snapped back, rolling my eyes. "I was being serious."

Sasuke shook his head. "I never start fights, I just finish them. You know. In my defence."

"I don't see why I have to be here though."

"Oh, they'll want a witness, just to verify stuff or something. They usually like that."

I laughed, looking at Sasuke and shaking my head.

We sat pretty much in silence for a while, but it was a nice, comfortable silence, which actually surprised me. I realized it was actually the longest period of time I'd ever spent alone with Sasuke in the past year or so – unless you counted the time I didn't remember because I was drunk.

When Deidara came out and Sasuke was called in, I mouthed, "Good luck." He just smirked and saluted me before closing the vice principal's door. I had nothing to do then but try and get some internet signal on my cell phone, which wasn't easy in this school.

When he came out, he shot me a smile, letting me know that everything was cool.

Principal Tsunade called, "Sakura?" and beckoned me in.

I sighed and got to my feet, wandering into his office. I'd never been inside before, only walked past it – and it wasn't a particularly welcoming place. It reeked of rules and punishment.

He asked me what the fight had been about. I told him the truth: that some idiots had been teasing me about something stupid I'd done at a party on Saturday night, and I'd been really offended, so the boys stepped in and a fight ensued.

"I see . . . Well, thank you, Sakura."

"I didn't get anybody in trouble, did I? I mean, nobody got badly hurt or anything... .'"I spoke warily as I stood up and slung my bag over my shoulder.

The principal handed me my late pass. "No, you just confirmed their stories, that's all. Don't worry about it, all right? And stay out of trouble."

I nodded uneasily. "Okay . . ."

"Just get off to class now."

That was a cue to get my butt out of there, so I didn't hesitate a second longer.

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. I didn't write anything


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. I didn't write anything , original by Beth Reekles

Chapter 5

Sakura POV

Lunch trays clattered down all around me, and I looked up to find a swarm of girls, both juniors and seniors, clustering.

'So,' Tenten said chirpily, sitting down opposite me with a huge grin. 'Tell us everything!'

'About what?' I frowned in confusion, setting my fork down on the side of my plate of salad.

'About Uchiha of course!' Ino squealed, leaning in to hear better. 'We want to know everything. Are you guys, like, together or something?'

I scoffed. 'God, no.'

'But you call him Sasuke,' one of the other girls said, and I looked over to see Temari, who'd dropped her voice to whisper his name like she was scared he'd hear her. 'You don't call him Uchiha.'

I shrugged. 'I've always done that, though. He was always there when I was growing up. He even told me I was like his little sister this morning. He's just a good guy.'

'A good guy who always gets in fights?' Konan raised a skeptical eyebrow. 'Puh-lease. He's protective of you – he always has been.'

My eyes narrowed and I felt my forehead crease again. 'What do you mean, he's always been protective of me?'

The girls all looked at each other. Then, finally, Ino said, 'You mean you didn't know?'

'Obviously not,' I exclaimed, getting more and more frustrated by the second. 'What don't I know?'

'Uchiha's always told guys to back off of you,' Ino told me confidentially. 'Told them if they ever did anything to hurt you, they'd be sorry.'

I blinked a couple of times, staring at her, and then burst out laughing. 'You're joking, right?'

The girls looked at each other again, and I sobered up.

'Oh, come on,' I said. 'Look, he's just acting like the protective big brother, all right? That's all it is.'

They looked at each other doubtfully again.

Temari finally said, 'Well, if you're totally sure . . .'

'A hundred and ten percent. Ask Naruto if you don't believe me.'

'Speaking of, where is your other half?' Konan asked.

'He's in woodwork,' I said. 'He wanted to get a head start on our banner. I, on the other hand, wanted some lunch.'

'Fair enough,' Tenten said. 'Hey, did you get Uchiha to do the booth?'

'He won't. I tried. Believe me, I tried.'

They all sighed. 'I wish he would. I'd pay good money for that booth,' Temari said, making us all laugh.

'Did he say why he won't?' Ino asked.

I shrugged. 'Not really.'

'Hey,' said Tenten suddenly, a gleam in her eyes as she looked from Temari to Ino and Konan. 'Maybe Uchiha will come to the booth if he's not going to be a part of it.'

They all immediately squealed in excitement.

Not that I blamed them.

'Oh my God! Sakura, if you can't persuade him to work the booth, at least persuade him to stop by!'

I wavered. 'I can't make any promises . . .'

'But you'll try?' Ino persisted.

I heard my cell phone bleep and went to check my pockets before I realized that I had no pockets in this damn skirt. I sighed to myself before reaching down for my bag and rummaging for my cell phone.

Come by woodwork, need some help! read the text.

I put my phone back and stood up, picking up my lunch tray. 'I have to go help Naruto. I'm guessing he needs a girl's touch.'

They laughed and called their goodbyes.

'Oh, Sakura?'

I turned back. 'Yeah?'

'Ask him,' Ino told me with a pointed look.

I chuckled and nodded at her, making them all squeal, then shook my head to myself.

And okay, admittedly I wasn't an awful lot better really. But still – I was over my crush. Completely so since he'd told me I was just a sister to him.

But that didn't mean he was any less attractive.

When I got to woodwork, Naruto was tapping a pencil really impatiently against a big plank of wood. After just ten seconds, it was already driving me mad – I didn't blame Kakashi-sensei for leaving Naruto for the peace of his office in the back.

'Hey,' I said, but Naruto didn't notice me until I was right in front of him. I dropped my bag loudly, making him start.

'Oh, I didn't hear you come in,' he said.

'So I see. So what did you need me for?'

He gestured at the board in front of him. 'How big should I make the letters?'

I sighed, then fluffed my hair out before pulling it back and twisting it into a ponytail. 'All right, big boy, give me a pencil.'

I sketched out the letters for KISSING BOOTH on the huge plank of wood.

'But they're not totally even. That "o" is way narrower than that one. And the "h" is half the height of that "s".'

'I know that. But you can go back over them and measure the lines properly. It doesn't matter if it's not perfect, with what I've got in mind.'

'Pray tell.'

I bit my lip, trying to find the right words to describe the image I had in my mind. It wasn't easy. 'Well, we've got the big main board of the booth, and we'll nail on the letters at odd angles so they overlap and all point different ways, because that'll look cooler than just having flat out "Kissing Booth". Does that make sense?'

Naruto nodded, looking at the plank. I could practically hear him piecing together my idea in his mind. 'I see what you mean. It'll look cool.'

'I know,' I told him.

He started drawing the lines out thicker, measuring them all straight and perfect. I sat down on the bench facing him, swinging my legs.

'Hey,' I said, 'did you know that Sasuke has been warning guys to stay away from me?'

Naruto didn't even look up, and merely shrugged. 'Yeah. Everybody knows.'

'Except for me. How did I not know that? Why didn't you tell me, more to the point?'

'I don't know – I figured you'd worked it out over the years. Why do you think guys have never asked you out on a date?'

I thought about that for a moment. To be honest, I had never really wondered. I hadn't panicked that there was something wrong with me just because I didn't have a boyfriend. I'd just kind of taken it in my stride that maybe I was more 'one of the guys' from hanging out with Naruto, so guys didn't see me as a girl they'd ask on dates.

'You know you're the only one for me, Naruto,' I teased. He looked up and winked at me, so I blew him a kiss back. We both laughed and he went back to drawing out the letters properly.

'Seriously, though – you only just heard about it?'

'Yeah. A bunch of the girls told me since they wanted all the gossip from this morning. Not that there was any gossip. I told them Sasuke just thinks of me as a sister.'

'He's just taken the over-protective-brother role to the extreme,' Naruto agreed. 'Though of course, I would've done the same. Especially after the way those guys were with you this morning……….. .' The pencil snapped in his hand.

'Jeez, calm down,' I said quietly.

Naruto tossed the pencil halves aside and pulled another out from behind his ear. 'Sorry. They just really got to me this morning.'

'No kidding.'

'Yeah, well whatever. The point is, Sasuke's totally right to tell guys to keep away from you. You're so trusting, you'd get hurt real easy.'

'What?' I cried indignantly. 'How am I "so trusting"?'

Naruto shrugged again. 'You're just too nice sometimes, Sakura. Not in a bad way. I just mean that . . . well, you know, you're more likely to fall for some jerk who'll hurt you.'

'Oh,' I said. 'I see.'

'I'm just looking out for you. So is Sasuke.'

'Well, thanks, I guess?'

'You're welcome, I guess?' he mocked, laughing. I launched a rubber band at his arm from the tabletop beside me. He swatted it off and carried on working, while I watched and chatted to him.

I was still wondering why Sasuke had gone so far as to warn guys off me. Because I realized it was unbelievably unfair. I'd be seventeen in just two months. I've never been kissed, never had a boyfriend, never been on a date. It was just so, so inconsiderate of Sasuke. How dare he interfere in my life like that? Sure, it was nice of him to look out for me – but he didn't have to stop guys dating me altogether!

When I asked Naruto exactly what Sasuke had done to scare guys away, he said, 'He told the guys that if they ever did anything to hurt you, they'd have him to deal with.'

I sighed to myself. It seemed clear that Sasuke just saw me as a vulnerable, too-trusting little sister, but I couldn't help wishing he'd had different reasons for doing it.

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. I didn't write anything , original by Beth Reekles


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. I didn't write anything

Chapter 6

Sakura POV

Sasori wasn't the most difficult ten-year-old boy to babysit. He mostly just played on video games and yelled at the TV. All I had to do was give him his dinner. Then, at half past nine, I had to almost drag him up the stairs until he shouted, 'Fine! I'll go to bed!'

I sighed, relishing the quiet once his bedroom door slammed shut.

I threw myself down in front of the TV and finally settled on some ninja movie with ninjutsu or clans or whatever.

Just as I was dropping off, my phone rang. I jumped, almost falling off the sofa.

'Hello?' I mumbled into the phone without checking the caller ID. I sounded kind of mad, but I didn't really care. Whoever was on the other end just had to deal with it.

'Um, Sakura?'

'Yes?' I snapped irritably.

'It's, uh, it's Deidara. Listen, don't hang up, I just wanted to apologize for this morning. I didn't really think it through, I guess, what I was saying. So . . . yeah. Sorry.'

I blinked a few times, trying to clear my mind. Deidara? Calling to apologize?

I couldn't believe it. Although maybe that was because he sounded like he was trying not to laugh.

'Um . . . Sakura? You still there?'

'Y-yeah,' I stammered quickly. 'Sorry, I'm just….just using the stove a sec.' What the hell? Who gets distracted on a phone call because they're using the stove? At ten p.m.?

'You're calling pretty late, you know,' I said hastily. 'Maybe a little too late for apologies?'

'I know, but I just wanted to say sorry.'

'Well, thanks,' I said curtly. 'I've got to go now, Deidara so I'll–'

'Hold on a sec.'

'I don't want to hear it, whatever it is.'

'You don't want to have dinner with me, then?' I could just imagine the smug look on his face from his cocky tone. It made me grind my teeth. 'Give me a chance to really apologize?'

'No. Bye.'

I hung up and threw my phone on the couch before he could utter another syllable. What an ass.

And Naruto said I was too nice . . . Ha!

I snorted quietly at that thought, feeling quite satisfied with myself for being so blunt with Deidara – though that wasn't what I was thinking about when I went upstairs.

There was only one thing running through my mind. Predictably enough – it was Sasuke.

For some reason, all I could think about was Sunday morning when we'd fallen off the bed: the look in his eyes – the look I remembered perfectly but couldn't fathom, with his bright eyes shadowed and holding mine.

Because you don't look like that at your substitute little sister, right?

Of course, I was being ridiculous; it was just my sleepy thoughts wandering into dreamland. But it made me think maybe there was a different reason he got involved in that fight that morning.

I scoffed at myself, my eyes already drooping shut.

'You're an idiot, Sakura,' I muttered. 'A total fool... .'

School the next day wasn't so bad. There were a couple of joking wolf-whistles and teasing loud comments, but I didn't pay them any attention. And I only heard them when Sasuke was nowhere near.

Naruto was muttering about them and I said, 'Well, it's kind of my fault. I mean, I did try stripping off to skinny-dip... .'

He gave me a look, making me trail off. 'What did I say yesterday? Too nice.'

'How was that too nice?' I demanded.

"it's not like you go parading yourself around, do you? You have some decency. One drunken mistake, and those guys are practically undressing you with their eyes."

I sighed. 'Come on. I'm not that hot.'

'Have you looked in the mirror lately, Miss Thirty-Four C?'

'Naruto!' I shouted, smacking his arm. I felt my cheeks go red. 'Don't say it so loud!'

He laughed at me, slinging an arm around my shoulder. 'I can't believe this is the same girl who would've gone skinny-dipping and stripped off for a load of guys—'

'Shut up.'

'Sorry.'

'We have a meeting for the carnival at lunch,' I reminded him as the bell went. While I was a chemistry kid, Naruto was biology. It was the only subject we didn't have together.

'Yeah, I know.'

'See you.'

'Bye, Sakura.'

I went to take my usual seat in the chemistry lab, but then I heard, 'Hey, Sakura! Come sit by me.'

I looked over my shoulder and saw Utakata pulling out the chair next to him.

'He's dead,' I heard Kiba mumble behind me.

'And that's not even mentioning what Sasuke will do,' Shikamaru agreed, and they smiled at me before sitting down. I just shot them back a baffled look, thinking: Boys.

'Uh . . . sure, okay,' I said to Utakata, and went to sit next to him. I didn't know him too well, but he seemed like a nice enough guy. He had black hair and a piercing, and he was also an amazing classical flautist; I'd seen him play at a school concert once.

'I heard about that fight yesterday,' he said conversationally, doodling squiggles on the corner of his textbook. 'I can't believe they said those things to you.'

'Oh, well, um... .' I laughed nervously, unsure of what to say to that.

After a few moments, he said, 'Is it true you and Naruto are doing a kissing booth? For the Spring Carnival?'

I nodded with a grin, grateful for the change in topic. 'Yup! Cool, huh?'

'Yeah,' he agreed with a smile. 'Are you going to be working it then?' He raised an eyebrow, his brown eyes flecked with amusement and a suggestive smile on his face – though I could tell that he wasn't entirely serious from the note of laughter in his voice.

'No,' I laughed. 'I'm not.'

'Shame. I was hoping I wouldn't have to embarrass myself here.'

'Oh?'

'You wouldn't want to . . . you know . . . uh, go' – he cleared his throat – 'go see a movie or something . . . with me . . . sometime?'

I wanted to laugh, just because he was so nervous.

But I managed to stop myself.

Instead, I gave a wry smile and said to him, 'Aren't you afraid Sasuke will break your arm or whatever?'

He shrugged. 'I think I can take a risk for a nice girl like you.'

'Well, when you put it that way,' I said with a smile, 'why not?'

'Really?' His eyes brightened.

'Really, really.'

'Cool. Well, I'll call you sometime.'

I nodded. Then I realized – 'I don't have your number.'

'Here.' He uncapped a biro with his teeth, and grabbed my arm, turning it over. He was pretty skilled to write his number all the way down from my elbow upside-down, I had to admit.

'You could've just put it in my phone.'

'But there's no fun in that.'

I laughed.

Meanwhile, the teacher had come in. 'All right, everybody, shut up and settle down. We've got a lot of work today. Now open the textbooks to page one hundred and thirty-seven. Last lesson we looked at the production of ethanol and its commercial uses and social implications... .'

'Yeah,' some boy – I think it was Hidan– called out jokingly. 'Making Sakura strip!'

I blushed, and retorted, 'What would you know? You were passed out by that point, you lightweight!'

'Nice.' Utakata laughed appreciatively; the others started jeering at him, but I gave him a smile.

Naruto wouldn't mind when I told him I had a date with Utakata. He knew Utakata a little better than I did, too. It was Sasuke I worried about.

'Hey,' Utakata said, once the bell had gone and I was about to rush out for my meeting about the carnival.

'Yeah?' I said.

'Call me.' He winked, laughing.

I smiled. 'Bye, Utakata.'

I arrived at the meeting at the same time as Naruto. 'Hey, you'll never guess what just happened in my chemistry class.'

'You got asked on a date?'

My grin fell away into a pout. 'How'd you know?'

'Kiba texted me. He said there was someone risking their neck. Utakata, right?'

'Yeah,' I said with a big smile. 'Can't you be more excited for me, Naruto?' I pushed at his arm playfully. 'I've got a date! Can't you be happy for me?'

Naruto laughed. 'I am, Sakura!' He gave me a hug, but that might've been just to stop me bouncing about excitedly. 'Utakata's a nice guy. I'm just wondering what my brother will say when someone tells him about it.'

I laughed. 'Don't worry. It'll be fine.'

'If you say so... .'

'So, Naruto and Sakura,' said Yahiko, head of the school council, calling the meeting to order with a simple clap of his big hands. He sat at the head of the table, with Nagato next to him, pen and paper ready to take minutes. He took his role as the school council's secretary very seriously. Everybody looked up at Yahiko, falling silent instantly. 'I hear you've finally got a booth.'

'Yup,' we said unanimously.

'A kissing booth.'

'Uh-huh,' we chorused.

He gave us a wary look. 'Don't you think that's a bit . . . a bit risky?'

'What? How is it risky? So we just say you can't come to the kissing booth if you've got a head cold. No big deal.'

'No, I mean . . . Well, don't you think it's a bit seedy?' he said. 'Some people aren't too happy about it—'

'But we started the banner!' Naruto cried angrily. 'We have kissers to do the kissing booth! Everyone loves the idea!'

'Yahiko,' I said calmly, elbowing Naruto sharply. 'Nobody's going to see it that way. Plus, loads of carnivals have a kissing booth. We can always set up a couple of rules. Kind of like height restrictions on a rollercoaster. We can set an age limit if that's what you're worried about.'

'It's a couple of the teachers who're not happy with it,' he said. 'I think it's a great idea. I'm just not entirely sure about it... .'

'It'll be fine,' I promised him, flashing a big grin.

'Well, if you've got it all sorted out, you really need to get working on your booth. The carnival's next Saturday. It must all be ready by next Friday.'

'Yeah, we know. It'll be ready,' Naruto said.

'Awesome. Moving on – Tenten, do you have the number for the cotton candy company with you?'

'Remind me to ask Sasuke if he'll stop by the booth,' I whispered to Naruto. 'The girls haven't stopped going on and on and on at me about it.'

'You know he'll say no.'

'Yeah, but I have to ask anyway.'

'What did I tell you Sakura?' Naruto smiled, flicking my nose, and making me scrunch up my face. 'You're just too nice.'

Naruto had to go run to the grocery store and pick up a couple of things for his mom, so he dropped me outside his house since we were going to work on a playlist of songs for the kissing booth. I was planning to get a head start on finding some love songs, so I headed on inside.

The door was already unlocked; I saw Sasuke's car, the one he'd fixed up himself, on the driveway.

'Mom said you need to get some more milk – we're all out,' I heard him call.

'He's already gone,' I called back. 'It's me.'

I walked into the kitchen just as Sasuke was heading out of it – straight into me; he spilled a glass of water all down my top. It didn't help that it was ice cold, and I gasped, jumping back a mile.

'Sasuke!' I yelled, plucking at my top. My blouse was plastered to my skin, and it probably didn't help that I'd worn a pink bra today since all my white ones were in the laundry. I sighed. Just my luck . . .

I glared at him. A muscle jumped in his jaw, and his brow knitted together.

'What? What's that look for?' I asked, my temper sparking. When he didn't say anything, I barged past and stormed into the kitchen to get myself a drink.

'Hey, what's that on your arm?'

I didn't answer him.

'Is it true you got a date with some kid?'

I set the empty glass down on the counter. 'Jeez, Sasuke! What does it matter? I already heard from Naruto I'm too nice – you don't need to be on my case too!'

'You didn't answer my question.'

'You didn't answer me either.'

'I asked first, Sakura Haruno.'

Oh, dear. He used my full name. Uh-oh. I turned around to face him. 'Yeah, I have a date – with Utakata. He's a nice guy.'

'A nice guy?' Sasuke scowled. 'Pinky, are you serious? Do you even know the guy? I mean, really know him?'

'Well – well, no, not really. But that's why I'm going on a date. To get to know him better. That's what people tend to do, you know? Oh wait – no, sorry, you wouldn't know, Mr. Playerboy. You just screw girls and ditch them the next morning. So long as you know their name it's all okay.'

Yeah, he was making me angry. Usually, I wouldn't have dared say those things, especially since I didn't know if they were actually true. But he was really, really making my blood boil. Plus, I was still mad at him for warning guys off me like that. I told myself it was anger making my heart race like this.

'He just wants to get in your pants.'

'Since when?' I cried, throwing out my hands. 'How would you know, anyway? You don't even know him?'

'Utakata. Classical flautists pianist. Takes some AP classes.'

I blinked. Okay, so maybe he did know him.

'Yeah,' Sasuke said, kind of smugly. 'I know who I'm talking about. And you know something else? He just wants in your pants, like any other guy.'

'So you're telling me that there's not one respectable boy in school who doesn't just want a girl for sex? Or maybe you're trying to say that's all I'd be good for? Do I really have no personality, Sasuke?'

'I didn't say that. But they're all the same.'

'How would you know? You're the reason I haven't had a date in my entire life! Why would you even do that?'

'You trust people way too easily,' he snapped, interrupting me. 'A guy would just have to tell you he loved you and he wouldn't be waiting on you much longer.'

I glared. 'Do you really think I'm that easy?'

Sasuke glared right back at me before he punched the kitchen door. It slammed shut and bounced back off the doorframe.

'Damn it, can't you just listen to me for once in your life? I'm trying to look out for you here!'

'I don't need looking out for!' I shouted back at him. 'Can't you just stay out of my life? I think I can handle going on one date, Sasuke!'

'How would you know? Guys are always checking you out and saying how hot you are – have you never noticed? If one idiot thinks he can date you and then hurt you, he's got another think coming.'

I screamed in frustration. 'Just stay out of my life!'

'You'll end up getting hurt.'

'I won't. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself.'

'Which is why you were stripping off in front of everybody on Saturday?'

'I was drunk!'

'And who got stuck looking after you?' he retorted.

'I didn't ask you to! I didn't ask you to tell boys to stay away from me either!' I went to barge past him again, intending to shut myself away in Naruto's room.

Sasuke grabbed my arm, saying, 'Hey! We're not finished here, Sakura Haruno!'

I spun around and pushed at his chest as hard as I could, though it didn't budge him.

'Whoa!' yelled a new voice – Naruto. We both looked and saw him standing in the doorway. 'Why are you guys killing each other? What did I miss?'

Neither Sasuke nor I responded; we were still glaring at each other.

'Nothing,' I said eventually. 'I'll see you upstairs, Naruto.'

I heard them both talking quietly in the kitchen. I sighed. Sasuke was just so . . . so infuriating! Sure, he was incredibly attractive. But hell, why did he have to interfere? How could he just automatically assume a boy couldn't possibly want a date with me because he genuinely liked me?

I threw myself down on Naruto's bed and screamed into the pillow, letting all my anger out.

By the time Naruto came up to work on the music for the booth, I had calmed down and was already surfing his iTunes library for music.

He didn't ask me any questions except for, 'Found anything yet?'

That is why I loved Naruto so much.

He waited until we were digging into a Chinese takeaway in the lounge to ask me.

'So what went down with you and Sasuke?'

'I yelled at him for being so overprotective. He yelled at me, trying to say he was only looking out for me. I yelled at him some more. You walked in.'

'He has good reasons though,' Naruto said carefully after a moment. 'I tried telling you... .'

'Yeah, I know you did, Naruto. But that's different. I mean, you're my best friend.'

Naruto smirked a little. 'Mm . . . yeah, but...but Sasuke has a point. Not every guy is a nice guy.'

'Yeah, but . . . but I'm not stupid enough to fall for that.'

'I'm looking out for you, Pinky.' He put his hand on my knee and I smiled back at him. See – when Naruto put it like that, it was nice. When Sasuke had said it, I just got mad at him.

'I know you are. It's just Sasuke I have a problem with. He's just taken it to the extreme. I can survive a date with Utakata. You know what Utakata's like. He wouldn't try anything like that.'

'Yeah, I know.'

'Sasuke obviously doesn't.'

'You two were scary earlier, you know. I'm serious.'

'Yeah, I know you are.' But I still had to bite back a laugh.

'Just . . . at least be careful?'

'Oh for God's sake. Hundreds of people go on dates, Naruto. You go on dates. It's not like you try and molest a girl on a first date.'

Naruto laughed at that. 'Third date, maybe.'

'And that's why Aoi wouldn't go to the movies with you.'

He laughed again since we were just kidding around, but when we both sobered up he said gravely, 'Seriously though, Sakura. We don't want you getting hurt.'

'I know.'

'Just be careful.'

'I will. Chill out.'

'Promise?'

'Pinky promise,' I said, wrapping my pinky finger through his and smiling. Naruto's protectiveness I could handle. I quite liked it, actually. I didn't mind if Sasuke was going to act all big-brother and be protective too – but what I didn't like was that he seemed so against me having any dates at all.

What a jerk.

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. I didn't write anything


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. I didn't write anything. ** **Original is by Beth Reekles**

**Authors Note: Please vote on the poll for Octobers update order**

**Chapter 7**

Sakura POV

The rest of the week passed quickly: we were busy trying to compile a playlist for the booth, painting the banner, collecting all the necessary decorations and making signs and posters. Not to mention everyday things like homework.

And I did my very best to avoid Sasuke when I was over Naruto's house.

I was still mad at him, and didn't want another full blown row.

Friday rolled around, and I couldn't sit still all day. I'd be going to the movies with Utakata tonight. I was supposed to be meeting him there at seven. I decided I'd aim to show up for five past. You were meant to try and keep a guy waiting a little, right?

I got home to raid my closet. My hands trembled slightly, and my breathing was shallow. Worries and doubts rampaged through my head, but I refused to listen.

I wanted something that looked good but not desperate. It was just a movie, so I couldn't go too fancy, anyway. And since Utakata wasn't that much taller than me, heels were out.

I picked out a pair of dark gray jeans. _Okay, good. Progress_.

But I still only had half an outfit.

I hadn't asked any girls for advice: I was too embarrassed to admit I'd never been on a date before and didn't know what to wear to the movies. Sure, I went to the movies with guys all the time, but always as friends. This was different. The guys didn't care what I wore, but this . . . Well, Utakata was going to notice.

I knew I was panicking over nothing, but I couldn't help it.

At long last, I decided that I'd wear a pale red jumper with sleeves to my elbows. It had darker red lace around the neckline, so it was a little nicer than a plain jumper. I threw on a silver necklace and bangles and decided that looked okay.

But maybe I should've worn something a little more flattering? This sweater didn't really make the best of my boobs – and if you've got it, flaunt it, right? Or not?

I checked the clock.

Crap. It was already five minutes after I should've left.

It'd have to be the jumper.

"Bye!" I called as I ran down the stairs.

"Have fun," Dad called back. Sasori carried on yelling at his video game. I slammed the door on them and saw that Naruto's car was already waiting outside. Oops.

I ran around and climbed in the passenger seat.

"Sorry,' I said, slightly breathless. 'But it can't hurt to keep him waiting a little, right?" I laughed nervously, looking sideways. Then I let out a loud groan.

"Sasuke. What are you doing here?"

"Naruto had to finish some chores. Which means I have to be your chauffeur."

"If you'd told me, I would've got a taxi, or asked my dad to give me a ride. Why didn't Naruto text me and let me know?"

"I assumed he did."

"No."

"Well, then, I don't know." Sasuke twisted round to eye me critically.

I plucked my sweater nervously. "Does it look okay? I don't know if it's too casual or what . . . Thanks to a certain someone, I've never done this before."

He smiled dryly. "It's fine."

"How's my hair?"

"Okay?" he answered, unsure. He put the car in gear and shrugged at me. "At least you dressed like normal."

"What do you mean, _like normal_?"

"Normal for you. I mean, you're not showing too much skin or anything." "'Wow. I think that was almost a compliment?"

"Not quite. But Pinky, if this guy tries anything, and I mean _anything_–"

'"Sasuke. He is a guy. I am a girl. Lots of people kiss on the first date, you know. It's not like he's going to try and get me to sleep with him halfway through the movie. This isn't _you_ we're talking about."

Sasuke shrugged, scowling. "I'm just saying . . .'"

We sat in silence a while.

"I think I've spoken to you more in the past week than in the whole of this last year," I commented casually.

'"Yeah. Weird."

I rolled my eyes at him. Yup, there was definitely nothing between us, even if I still had that crush on him. He was totally indifferent to me – apart from being all over-protective. All the time I'd wasted crushing on him . . .

Though he was really good looking – especially with his hair falling into his eyes and the dashboard glow shadowing his face like that.

_You're going on a date with another guy! Hello! Earth to Sakura!_

I shook myself mentally. "Thanks for the ride. You can just stop here."

"Fine. Are you going to need a ride home?"

"Utakata said he'll take me home. If not, I'll call my dad or Naruto."

"Okay."

I rolled my eyes and got out of the car, walking up to the doors of the cinema.

I looked around. No Utakata. Had he stood me up? I checked inside, but he wasn't there either . . . Where was he? My palms started to sweat a little; my stomach was made of butterflies.

After a couple of minutes I texted him to say, _I'm here. Are you inside?_

There. Perfect. It didn't sound too clingy or anything. I sent it and waited for the reply. I waited a full three and a half minutes for one.

_Almost there_.

Oh, great. Now I was the one waiting around. I leaned against a lamppost, looking at my phone like I was actually doing something. Really, I was clicking on random apps and then going off them again. I hoped I didn't look as worried and nervous as I felt.

"Stood up?"

I jumped out of my skin, and smacked Sasuke across his incredibly rock-hard chest. "Don't scare me like that! And no, actually, he's on his way." He smirked. "I thought you said you wanted to keep him waiting."

"Yeah, well . . ."

"Told you so."

"Sasuke, go home. What are you, stalking me?'"

"Just enjoying the show," he smirked. "You look like you've been stood up, you know."

"Well, not so much now you're here, really," I retorted. "Ha. Don't look so stupid now, do I? Besides, Utakata's probably just caught in traffic or something. It's no big deal."

He nodded dubiously. We stood in silence another endless minute. I kept wondering if I should start a conversation, but then I'd remind myself I was mad at him and close my mouth. I must've looked like a fish, opening and closing my mouth like that.

It didn't help that Sasuke was incredibly distracting: he leaned on the post opposite me, watching me wring my hands nervously.

"Hey!"

I turned and smiled, seeing Utakata walk up to me. "Hi."

His eyes flitted past me to Sasuke, who was giving him the coldest look I'd ever seen. Scary. Threatening.

I tried not to grind my teeth. "Isn't it time you left, Sasuke?"

He glared a second longer at Utakata before shrugging and getting back into his car, leaving without another word. A sigh of relief escaped my lips and I relaxed.

"Sorry, I had to stop for gas. Queues were unbelievable. Sorry. Let's go on in," Utakata said, jerking his head at the doors. I smiled and followed him. "Do you want to grab some snacks? I'll get the tickets."

"Sure. Uh, salted popcorn okay?"

"Yeah, that's great." He shot me a smile, but as I turned away I wondered if it had been a little strained. Huh. Probably just me imagining things. As I ordered the popcorn, I wondered if I should've gone for something less . . . well, something that didn't get stuck in your teeth. If we did end up kissing at all, then . . . I sighed. I was just way too inexperienced when it came to date etiquette.

I thanked the vendor and made my way back to where Utakata was waiting, a scowl on his face.

"What was Uchiha doing out there?" he asked me. Oh, so _that's_ what the frown was for!

"Just . . . being Uchiha," I muttered, shaking my head. "Forget about it."

"I didn't know you guys were close."

"We're not. Naruto couldn't give me a ride, so Sasuke – so Uchiha did."

"Oh. Right."

We walked into the screen, the adverts already playing. I let Utakata lead and pick the seats. He went for some more toward the middle. Not at the back, where the couples would all be making out. I didn't know whether or not that was a good thing.

"Do you want to get something to eat after?" I whispered, plucking up the courage.

"I ate earlier, sorry . . . I didn't know . . . but, I mean, if you're—"

"Oh, no, that's fine," I said quickly.

"Shh!' somebody hissed behind us.

I rolled my eyes and ducked back down in my seat. The movie came on, and I didn't know what to do. I wondered if Utakata would be cheesy and do The Yawn, and put his arm around me. Or if he'd claim the armrest and I'd hold his hand. Or if he'd try and kiss me.

So far, I didn't know whether or not this date had been successful. He'd been late, though he'd been polite enough. He hadn't tried to make a move, but maybe I was blowing things out of proportion. Maybe it was just in books and movies that guys made a move or kissed you on the first date? Maybe he was just as nervous as I was. Probably – he had every right to be nervous about Uchiha's threats to any boy who looked at me, let alone dated me.

It was just ridiculous. I hated Sasuke sometimes.

The movie ended and we walked out. Utakata started conversation – first about that movie, then about what kind of movies I liked. He liked sci-fi films and thrillers. I was more of an action or romance person myself. We didn't like many of the same movies.

We didn't have similar tastes in music either, really.

But he was nice, and easy to talk to.

We just . . . didn't really seem to have much in common.

We talked the whole ride home, and he stopped outside my house. I unbuckled my seatbelt but didn't move. I tried to play it cool, and do it like the movies did. (I always found them to be an excellent source of education. I was so lucky I'd watched _John Tucker Must Die_ on the weekend.)

"Well, thanks, Utakata," I said, smiling. "I had a nice time."

"Yeah. We should do this again sometime. You still got my number?"

"Well, I haven't lost it since this evening." I laughed nervously, and he smiled back. I saw him look at my lips and my pulse picked up. Oh gosh. Oh God. He was going to kiss me now, wasn't he? Oh gosh. He leaned in – yep, definitely going to kiss me.

My first kiss. I'd have my first kiss with Utakata. He was nice, kind of cute and easy to get along with . . . But honestly, I didn't feel anything for him. But what if I ended up getting stuck on his tongue piercing or something, if he gave me a French kiss? I was not ready for this. Totally unprepared. But it was happening. He was leaning ever closer . . . _My first kiss!_

I chickened out.

I turned my head and kissed his cheek instead.

And then I got out of the car before I could feel too embarrassed by what I'd done. I smiled and waved, then headed to my front door as fast as I could while trying to look casual. I got inside, shut the door, and leaned against it. I let out a gigantic breath and sank to the floor, putting my head in my hands.

"I'm such an _idiot_."

Utakata probably wouldn't want a second date. Not that I was totally sure _I_ wanted one, but I wouldn't have been able to say no, really, if he'd have asked. After all, one date wasn't really enough to get to know him properly, especially given how nervous I'd been.

Eventually I dragged myself up to bed, ignoring Lee's phone calls for once. I didn't want to deal with that right now. I just wanted to beat myself up about my failure of a first date for a while.

_Just as well I'm not working the kissing booth_, I thought to myself with a wry smile.

**Authors Note: Please vote on the poll for Octobers update order**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Naruto and the Kissing Booth are the property of their respective owners. I am is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of the material. I don't own anything. **Naruto characters were used in place of the original characters. I didn't write anything.** Originally written by Beth Reekles

**Chapter 8**

I gave Naruto a rundown of the date, and in return, he gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Would you even want another date though? It doesn't sound like you had such a great time . . ."

"Well, not really," I mumbled, picking at some non-existent fluff on my jeans. "But I don't know. I probably would've said yes if he asked— Ouch! What was that for?" I exclaimed when Naruto smacked my thigh sharply.

'Too nice!' he scolded me. "You didn't like the guy as more than a friend, obviously. But you would've led him on just trying to be nice."

'I wouldn't have led him on. Just . . . given him a second chance. It's not like people find their soulmate on the first date or anything.' He raised an eyebrow. 'I wouldn't have led him on!'

"Yes you would. Not intentionally. But because you were being polite."

I sighed and flopped back so I was lying flat on my back on the grass. "Am I really that bad?"

"You're not nice to Naruto."

"Yes, but that's Naruto. Thanks, by the way," I added sarcastically, "for telling me he was giving me a ride."

"Oh, yeah. My bad. But, hey, you didn't kill each other."

"I was ready to, believe me. And the look he gave Utakata when he showed up! I swear to God, Sasuke is the most infuriating jackass on the whole planet!"

Naruto just laughed at me. I scowled up at the clouds rolling by over my head, cotton wool against the bright blue. I felt my breaths grow more and more even; there was something calming about watching clouds.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said eventually. "You're funny when you're mad."

"Whatever."

"Anyway. Has Utakata spoken to you since?"

It was three on a Saturday afternoon. And no, Utakata hadn't texted me or called me, and something told me he hadn't had a great time on the date either.

"No," I answered him. "He hasn't."

Naruto shrugged. "He's not interested."

"What? How would you know? Maybe he's busy. Or maybe he's playing hard to get or something."

Naruto's smile twisted up to one side in sympathy. "Sorry, Pinky, but he's just not interested. Trust me. I'm a guy. I know how the male populous operates when it comes to girls."

"Fine," I muttered. "Maybe he isn't interested anymore. Maybe I should've just sucked it up and kissed him.'

"See, there you go again," Naruto grumbled. "It's not like you were under any obligation to kiss him. So you guys didn't hit it off – big deal. Move on."

"I can't quite decide if your advice is helpful or not."

"I'm not a chick. I'm not going to sit here and dissect your night."

"You just listened to _me_ dissect it," I muttered.

"Exactly."

I sighed. "Fine, I guess you're right. It's going to be awkward in school though, don't you think?"

"Only if you make things awkward."

"Yeah, I suppose." I suddenly sat bolt upright, giving myself a head rush. "Don't tell Sasuke how badly my date with Utakata went, okay?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Just – if he asks. Say it went fine. If you have to say anything, tell him that Utakata and I just didn't click. But don't tell him it was as bad as I told you."

"Okay . . ." he said warily, not questioning me. I didn't want to even imagine the smug look on Sasuke's face if he found out how my date with Utakata had really gone. Whatever reasons he had for not wanting me to have a boyfriend, Sasuke was doing a pretty good job of keeping me single.

I sighed to myself quietly and closed my eyes, the sun warming my cheeks. I felt Naruto lie down beside me, and we just stayed like that, basking in the sunshine, too content and relaxed to say anything much.

The whole weekend passed in a lazy way. We couldn't be bothered to do much of anything. We watched some movies and lay around in the sun, dive-bombed in Naruto's pool, and tried to get some homework done (we didn't get very far with that one). So Monday rolled around a whole lot faster than I would've liked.

I had chemistry in my first lesson. With Utakata. Who hadn't called or texted me all weekend. I didn't know whether it was just as well he didn't want a second date, or whether I should be worried that he didn't like me.

A few people had already texted or spoken to me asking how the date had gone. I always said, "Okay." When they asked if I was going to see him again I said, 'I don't know.' When they asked if we'd kissed, I had to say, "No."

But now I'd have to face him and I didn't know how to act.

Yeah, Utakata was nice and easy to talk to. But I didn't like him in that way. He obviously felt the same about me, since he hadn't called me. I should've been relieved about that; if the feeling was mutual, it couldn't be too awkward between us, right?

"Aw, no!" I looked up from my locker to see Kiba walking toward me.

"You're wearing trousers again. I miss the skirt. You looked hot."

"Very funny."

"I wasn't being funny," he said with a laugh. I rolled my eyes and carried on trying to find my homework for math. "Anyway, everybody's talking about your big date with Utakata . . ."

"Why? It wasn't that interesting. Really."

"Yeah, I know that. But he's the first guy to risk asking you out."

I shrugged, trying not to grind my teeth when I remembered how angry Sasuke had made me with the whole "trying to stop me getting hurt"

Thing.

"Utakata told everyone you didn't want to kiss him."

"It's not that— Wait, he _told_ everyone? He actually said that?"

"Well. I say that. It was a couple of guys who pestered him about it, and it got out pretty quick. Just because, you know, your date was such big news. So . . . everyone now thinks you didn't want to kiss him."

"It's just . . . I don't know . . ."

"Hey, you don't have to justify yourself,"

Kiba told me with another big smile. "It's just that some people are going to talk and ask questions, so be ready for that."

"Thanks for the warning," I muttered.

"You're welcome."

And he was right – people kept coming up to me, saying, "Is it true you wouldn't kiss Utakata? Why didn't you kiss him?"

The first time, I panicked. I didn't want to tell them the real reason, so I babbled something along the lines of, "I – I didn't feel too great. I didn't know if it was contagious."

What a lie. I'm sure they all knew it, but if they did, not one of them showed it.

I walked into chemistry and Utakata was there already. I dithered a second, wondering if I should sit with him or not.

He shot me a smile though, so I went to join him.

"Hey," I said casually.

"You know, if you were ill on Friday, you should've said," he commented.

"I know, but I felt okay and I didn't want to cancel." I tried not to mumble too much. "Sorry about that."

"It's not a problem."

"So, uh . . . Yeah . . ." I cleared my throat and Utakata laughed nervously.

"I don't want to sound like a jerk or anything but . . . I was thinking about it and—'

"We're better off as friends?" I filled in, then regretted it when I realized he might not have been saying that. Oh man, what if I'd just dug myself into a grave?

"Uh, yeah," he said, giving me a nervous smile. "No offence. We just didn't seem to . . . click."

"None taken," I said, smiling. "I thought exactly the same." I hope my relief wasn't too evident. "So did you do the homework? I didn't get question eight."

And just like that, my life had snapped back to its sadly romance-free ways.

We were working on the banner for the kissing booth. The letters were cut out and Naruto had smoothed the edges; we just needed to paint them and then nail them onto the booth itself. We had some decorations back at my house, and the posters were ready too. We also had a couple of boards with the price on.

"Everybody's been asking me all week what happened with you and Utakata," Naruto said to me. It was after school on Wednesday afternoon.

We needed to hurry our asses up to get everything ready to set the booth up on Friday night.

"You haven't said anything too incriminating?" "I haven't told them the truth, no," he laughed, dunking his brush into the pink paint again. "I don't know why you said you were sick though."

"It was believable," I defended myself. "First thing I thought of."

"Yeah, I guess. But loads of the guys reckon it's Sasuke scaring him off."

"He did look pretty threatening when I was waiting for Utakata," I admitted, printing with my lipstick sponge onto one of the already dry letters.

Naruto shrugged. It was a little while before he broke the silence again. "Pinky . . ."

"Yeah?"

"Does he ever scare you? I mean . . . I know he's not quite the Incredible Hulk or anything, but he can lose his temper kinda quickly."

"That's just the way he is. I grew up with him around. He couldn't scare me – I know that he's . . . intimidating . . ."

"I guess," Naruto said, nodding. Suddenly he dropped his paintbrush into the pot, splattering me with pastel-pink paint – my face, my blouse, my tie, my hair . . .

"Naruto_!_" I screamed.

"Sorry!"

I grabbed a brush and dunked it into the pot of black, totally prepared to flick it over Naruto. But something cold and wet landed on my face and neck as he flicked me again, making me jump so much that I dropped my paintbrush, leaving a trail down my front.

Naruto spluttered before collapsing into laughter. I scowled at him, waiting for him to stop.

"It's not funny, Naruto!"

"Yes it is! You sh-sh-should've s-seen your . . . your face!" He was holding his side now. I glared and grabbed my bag. "W-where you going?"

"The locker rooms to wash this crap off of my face," I snapped. "And stop laughing!"

"I can't help it!" he gasped, bent double. "Your _face_!"

I stormed out, slamming the door behind me. I thought I had a spare blouse in my locker. We'd be going for a burger later and I did not want to go out looking like a Picasso.

I always thought the locker rooms at school were really weird: a big communal corridor, with notices and stuff pinned up, which led to the "fitness suite", with its treadmills and weights, and the fields outside. The girls were on the far left, the boys on the right. Just as I came into the corridor, the whole football team poured through the door. I'd already yanked off my tie and undone another button; I hadn't stopped to think I might not be alone.

The boys all slowed down seeing me, and I stopped in my tracks.

And then the laughter broke out, all of them finding me hilarious, apparently.

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked, biting his lip hard to try and keep from laughing.

"We were painting the banner for our booth," I said. 'Naruto had a bucket of paint. Do I need to say anything more?'

He shook his head. Most of the boys started trailing into the locker rooms, still laughing and looking at me. I caught a couple of them shamelessly checking out my semi-unbuttoned shirt and put an arm across my chest.

"Aw, come on," I said, doing a twirl and giving them a big grin – I'd rather make a joke out of it than be embarrassed. "Do I look that bad?"

"Well, I'd pay to see you in the art gallery,' said one of the boys, laughing. I rolled my eyes at him and drifted down the corridor toward the girls changing rooms, calling a goodbye over my shoulder.

A hand caught my arm, making me stumble backward, and then steadied me before I fell.

I turned to see who it was. Then the smile on my face dropped. "Oh."

"What're you doing?" hissed Sasuke. 'You don't walk around half dressed, Sakura."

"I'll walk around, however, the hell I want, thanks," I snapped back, jerking my arm away. "It's no big deal. It's not like I'm prancing around in my underwear, for Pete's sake."

"Yeah but still . . ." His eyes trailed down me, then he gave me a stern look.

"Leave me alone already!" I exclaimed, glaring at him. "Honestly, it's bad enough you're being so overprotective, but you don't have to be so . . . extreme!"

"So what happened to you and Utakata? I know for a fact the whole "being sick" thing was a lie."

I gaped. Was he blackmailing me? "You didn't tell anybody, did you?"

He smirked, giving me a patronizing look. "I don't gossip. And no, I didn't tell them. Because I figured you had a good reason. So what went down?"

I shrugged. "Nothing."

"Something clearly happened – I know you well enough to spot when you're lying. So what's the truth?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, debating whether to tell Sasuke or just ask him to keep his nose out of it. But I thought maybe if I didn't tell him, he'd jump to the stupid conclusion that Utakata had overstepped the line. While I was debating this, I couldn't help but notice just how hot Sasuke looked in his football gear, with the shoulder pads and his helmet tucked under his arm. His hair was a little damp with sweat and he just looked . . . _wow_.

Before he noticed I was checking him out, I finally answered him. "He was going to kiss me at the end of the night, but I kissed him on the cheek instead. He didn't try to do anything, it was a totally normal situation, and I made a fool of myself by turning my head. It's not a big deal. It got blown out of proportion. It's just embarrassing."

He studied my face for a moment before saying, "That's it? You're sure?"

I got the feeling he was trying not to laugh.

I huffed, just about ready to stamp my foot. "Yeah. Completely sure. Why are you always so dramatic? It's not like any guy in this school is going to make me do anything I don't want to do, anyway."

He raised an eyebrow, as if to say I was way too naïve. I just shrugged it off.

"Now can I go wash this freaking paint off, or does the Spanish Inquisition have more pointless questions?"

He smirked a little. "Someone's moody."

"I'm covered in paint and you're giving me a third degree for nothing! Of course I'm not in a good mood." I stormed away to the changing rooms.

But when I saw myself in the mirror . . . even I had to laugh. I was such a mess! Paint flecked all through my hair, streaked over my face and dripped down my neck, patterning my blouse . . .

It wasn't so funny when it wouldn't come off, though.

Or when I found no spare clothes in my gym locker.

After about ten minutes of tireless scrubbing, I got some of the paint out of my hair and most of it off my face. It had dripped down under my blouse, so I was standing there in my trousers and bra when the door opened.

it was Naruto, I didn't turn around.

"Hey, Sakura? Naruto said he's going for some food with the guys, but if you want a ride home . . ." Sasuke trailed off when he saw me standing there.

I froze, blinking at my reflection in the mirror. I felt my cheeks warm up and twisted my head around, hoping I wasn't blushing as hard as my reflection was.

"What?" I snapped.

"Nothing."

"No – what were you saying?"

"Oh. Oh, right, yeah, well, um, Naruto's leaving to grab some food with the guys, but he said if you wanted to go straight home, then I have to give you a ride. And considering you still look like some kind of Picasso . . .'

I looked at the flecks of pink paint splattered over my collarbone and laughed, trying to cover my awkwardness at him seeing me in my bra. He'd seen me in a bikini before, but that seemed . . . different, somehow. "Yeah. Tell Naruto to go ahead."

"Sure. How long are you going to be?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Since you're going to take me straight home, I can shower there, so . . ." I pulled on my damp blouse and did the buttons up hastily, then slung my bag onto my shoulder. "Let's go."

I wasn't really looking forward to being in the car with Sasuke – I was half expecting a lecture or something.

"How's the booth coming along?" he asked conversationally as we walked across to the parking lot. I looked at him warily, and he caught my eye, shrugging a little. "What?" he said. "I can't talk to you?"

My only reply was to raise my eyebrows skeptically at him.

He shrugged again. "Whatever. So, are you going to answer me or not?"

I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut for a second. I felt like I should be mad at him, but I couldn't seem to find a legitimate reason _to_ be mad at him.

I guess Sasuke just had a strange effect on me. Although whether that effect was good or bad, I hadn't figured out yet.

"It's going okay. We still have stuff to do before Friday, but we'll manage – as long as Lee doesn't start painting me instead of the letters again."

"Well, you made a good piece of Impressionism, I'll give you that."

I halted in my tracks, making Sasuke stop a few paces ahead when he realized I wasn't with him. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"What?"

"I think that was a compliment. Sasuke Uchiha just gave someone a compliment. Contact the newspapers, somebody."

He gave a sarcastic laugh, but I saw the twinkle in his eyes. I smirked back and carried on walking with him.

"Are _you_ going to come to the carnival?" I asked him.

"Yeah. I kind of have to. It's one of those things all of the teachers "encourage" to show "school spirit" and shit."

"Thinking of stopping by the kissing booth?"

He cocked an eyebrow at me, with an obnoxious look on his face. 'Why are you asking, Pinky?'

"All the girls, especially the ones working the booth, are asking me to persuade you to stop by. The chance to kiss Sasuke Uchiha is just too exciting a prospect for some."

He smirked wider. "Ah. You're not asking for yourself then?"

_In my dreams_.

"No, definitely not."

"Well, I'm not making any promises. You can tell them I _might_ stop by, though, when they ask again. And knowing me, they _will_ ask again."

"You're so full of yourself," I muttered, shaking my head. I paused, looking around for his car. He'd gotten out a set of keys, but I didn't see it here.

"Where's your car?" I asked, following him.

"I didn't bring it today."

"So . . . how'd you get here?"

"I took my bike."

I groaned, lagging behind, then stopped entirely, noticing the sleek red and black motorbike he'd created from the piece of junk he'd had sitting in his shed. It looked awesome, don't get me wrong. But I've never been on a motorbike in my life; it scared the hell out of me just to think about it.

And here I was with no option but to get on a two-wheel death trap. With Sasuke, no less.

"If I die, it's all your fault."

"You're not gonna die, Sakura. Here. You can even have the helmet."

"You only have one helmet? But then, what if—?"

"i'll be fine," he interrupted me. "I haven't crashed this thing yet." He patted the handlebars firmly as if to show how sturdy the thing was.

"But what if _you_ fall off? What if _you_ crash? You're supposed to wear the helmet for a reason! Do you have some kind of death wish?" My voice got more and more hysterical with every syllable. I had my eyes on the bike the whole time. It seemed more monstrous and intimidating by the second.

"Worried about me, pinky?" Noah teased.

My eyes narrowed. He was smirking, his eyes sparkling at me, tossing the helmet gently from hand to hand. I snatched it off him.

"You don't have to be scared of the bike," he said, patting it like it was a loveable pet dog. "It won't bite."

"Maybe not, but _you_ might," I muttered under my breath. But he heard me, and chuckled. He tucked his bag into the hollow space underneath the seat, and put my bag in after.

I rammed the helmet onto my head, gritting my teeth. I did not want to have to do this . . . But I had no choice. I had to get home somehow before I went to join Naruto and the guys. Though I'd rather have gone out like this than get on the bike with Sasuke.

I fumbled with the straps. The helmet was huge and I couldn't see what I was doing. It smelled kind of citrusy. Like Sasuke's pillow had. It was a nice smell.

I jerked my thoughts back to the matter at hand – getting the helmet on so I wouldn't be so likely to die.

'Here . . .' Sasuke's hands brushed over mine and fixed the helmet for me. His fingertips tickled my neck, and for some reason, I felt all shaky. Weird . .

I shook it off, attributing it to dread at having to get on this so-called vehicle.

"Don't look so scared." He smiled at me – another real, genuine smile that showed his dimple. It made my heart somersault. I loved seeing that smile.

He slid onto the bike and I cautiously slipped on behind him. _Thank God _

_I'm not in a skirt_ was all I could think.

Sasuke reached behind him and his hands found mine, pulling my arms around his waist. I stiffened a little, and he told me to "Just relax Sakura."

With a kick, the bike roared to life and growled beneath me. We hadn't moved half an inch but my arms squeezed him tight around the waist and

I pulled myself as close as I could get. My heart pounded, terrified.

I heard his laugh over the rushing blood in my ears and the menacing growl of the engine.

Then we were off.

I wanted to yell at him, and scream, "Slow down! You're going to kill us!"

Except when I opened my mouth, any sound I might've made was snatched by the wind rushing past us. We were hurtling along the roads, slipping through traffic and zipping past lines of cars and trucks.

My hair was whipped out from under the helmet and my blouse was buffeted against me. I couldn't hear anything except blood rushing in my ears, the roar of the bike, and the wind.

When Sasuke yanked the bike around and came to a sudden, smooth stop outside my house, I couldn't move.

My arms were still curled tightly around his toned stomach. My legs were as close to him as I could get them.

Sasuke slowly peeled my arms away, and that jerked me back to life. I slid off the bike, my legs feeling so wobbly they made Jell-O look steady, and my shaky hands fumbled with the helmet.

Sasuke undid it for me in one swift motion and pulled it off my head.

"Your hair's all static,' he said and reached up to ruffle it. I scowled, and my trembling hands smoothed it out – which was impossible. It felt like a bird's nest. It'd take me hours to brush all these knots out. The leftover paint I'd missed wouldn't help much.

"Oh come on," he said, leaning on his bike casually. "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that."

"I hated it," I told him truthfully.

"You didn't love the wind in your hair, or the freedom, or the sheer speed of it?"

I shook my head. "Not a chance. I _hated_ it."

"Even cuddling up to me?" he asked with a cocky smirk. "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that."

"Sasuke, that was the scariest thing I've ever done in my entire life. I don't care how hot you are, I hated every second of that."

"You think I'm hot?" His smirk grew wider and I felt my cheeks get warm.

"Oh, shut up. It's not like you don't know you are."

"True. But it's nice to hear you admit it."

"You're such a jerk, you know that? And I'm never getting on that bike ever again in my life."

"But I'm a hot jerk, right?" he teased.

I glowered. "Shut up already. Just get my bag out. Please," I added.

He rolled his eyes but handed me my bag.

"Thank you," I said curtly and marched up to the door.

"Oh, Sakura?"

"What?" I sighed, turning around to give him an exasperated look.

"You have a little paint . . . Just there." He brushed the side of his face to demonstrate, a giant smirk on his face. I glared and slammed the front door behind me.

"Sakura? Is that you?" Dad called. He popped out of the kitchen and did a double take. 'What happened?'

"You don't even want to know."


End file.
